ITALY: NAPLES, SORRENTO, POMPEII

It's time for the first trip of the summer! Katie, Sarah Jane, and I flew out early on Friday morning. My summer plans were planned very last minute. Due to some changes to my original plan that made me unable to go, I found out that Katie and Sarah Jane had trips planned. I decided to tag along with them to see more of Europe. 

So, since I booked at different times than they did, I ended up staying at a different hostel than them. I was only a 9-minute walk away from them, but it sort of felt like a solo trip at times. I learned quickly that Naples is not the city for me. There is lots of garbage, and walking around can seem a bit sketchy.

Once I got to my hostel, I packed up a small backpack for the beach before meeting up with Katie and Sarah Jane for a quick breakfast. After, we took a taxi to a nearby beach for the day. I learned very quickly that Naples does not have a lot to do. 

We hung out for the day at Bagno Elena, and the weather was perfect while we were there.

We had to pay to have a beach chair for the day because finding a beach in Naples and around the Amalfi Coast that charges for a beach chair is inevitable.

I was able to relax and not think about assignments or exams. I jumped into the water too, and the water was freezing, but it felt good since it was so warm. I even got to read more of my book!

Katie and I obviously had to take a few necessary photos.

It started to cool down a little bit, so we packed up and taxied to a lookout point in Naples called Castel Sant'Elmo. 

I love the views of Italy and seeing the red and yellow buildings from above. 

It looked like it was starting to rain, so we quickly took pictures and walked through the castle. After, we took a funicular to go to the city center for dinner.

There weren't many good options for dinner. But we found a restaurant with outdoor seating and got diavola pizza, my favorite. I can never complain about pizza, but this was not one of my favorites.

Nearby was a gelato place, and I got tiramisu, and it was amazing. I even got it the next day!

I ended the night by souvenir shopping and then walked back to the hostel to get ready for bed. 

To be a bit safer since I was by myself, I stayed in a female-only room, and the girls were super nice. 

They even helped with travel tips. One of the girls recommended I leave my luggage at a luggage spot by the station during my tour of Pompeii, and I thought that was a genius idea! 

I woke up bright and early the next morning to head to Sorrento for a day trip. I originally booked a train because I thought it would be easier, but I should've stuck with taking the ferry. The train station was about a 30-minute walk away, so I had to take an Uber. However, the train ride itself wasn't bad.

Once in Sorrento, I stocked up on water for the day and met up with Sarah Jane and Katie since they took the ferry. Sorrento is one steep hill. So once you're down by the water, it's a long trek back up.

We decided to stay down by the water and spent our day at Peter's Beach. 

This was the best place ever! The staff was very nice, and we had great seats right by the ladder to get into the water. The water was cold when you first got in, but it was very refreshing. I don't have much else to say about Sorrento since we laid out and relaxed from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. I have zero regrets; it was peaceful, and the views were breathtaking.

Since Sarah Jane and Katie took the ferry and talked about how easy it was, I changed my plans and booked the ferry home.

Before getting on the ferry, I had to try lemon gelato. Sorrento and the Amalfi Coast are known for their lemons, and this gelato did not disappoint.

After the ferry ride, I walked back to the hostel to shower and relax for a bit. Later on, I met back up with Sarah Jane and Katie for pizza fritta. Pizza Fritta was invented in Naples and is exactly what it sounds like: fried pizza. It wasn't the worst thing I've ever tasted, but I definitely don't need to ever get another one. They put ricotta cheese in it, and I think that mozzarella would make it a lot better. 

The next morning, I was going to be all by myself since Katie and Sarah Jane flew out to Budapest early. I was thinking about how I was going to spend my day since I wasn't the biggest fan of Naples and chose to do a day trip to Pompeii. My morning started off great. I ate breakfast in the hostel and took an Uber to where I was going to drop off my luggage. But then, my day took a turn: the luggage place I booked a locker in was "closed." I was panicking because there was no way I could carry my luggage around Pompeii. I walked to the train station and threw my luggage in a locker. Feeling relieved, I walked to the meet-up point and passed the original storage place. Of course, it was finally open. 

Still in high spirits, I got to the meet-up point and waited... and waited... and waited. While waiting, I met the nicest couple from Australia who were on the same tour! They were super sweet, and we had many conversations about my study abroad semester. Finally, 45 minutes pass from me getting to the meet-up point when the car finally pulls up. Could the day get any worse?

Thankfully, it did not. I met up with the rest of the tour group and learned all about the history of Pompeii while I took in the views. I'm glad the tour was in the morning because it got packed and the day was getting hotter by the minute.

I learned that the original population of Pompeii was around 20,000 before the eruption and that the power of the eruption is equivalent to 50,000 atomic bombs. 

One cool part of the tour was seeing the remains of people from the eruption. They were able to be preserved by being covered in plaster.

All in all, it was the perfect way to fill my last day in Naples. The history was very engaging, and I loved learning about what the city used to be like.

Because Naples isn't the safest, especially being by myself, I got to the airport a bit early and got my last Italian sandwich. I'm really going to miss the food! I spent the rest of the afternoon working on busy work and Facetiming family for Mother's Day.

Best Part of the Trip: Relaxing on the beach in Sorrento. The weather was great, and it was so nice to be able to swim and relax. I would go back to Sorrento and other parts of the Amalfi Coast.

Worst Part of the Trip: I wasn't the biggest fan of walking around Naples. The streets were very dirty, and I never felt extremely safe. Plus, the morning before the Pompeii tour was very stress-inducing. 

Overall Thoughts: If it wasn't clear, I was not a fan of Naples. However, I loved everything outside of Naples. I think Naples is a good place to stay if you're going to travel outside the city, like I did. Even though I didn't like Naples, I love everything about Italy and want to go back someday.